Ruling on Foreign Nations' Involvement in SB 1070 Lawsuit

Press Release

Yesterday, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied the State of Arizona permission to officially respond to Mexico's amicus brief. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals accepted Mexico's amicus brief (joined by other Latin American countries) on October 4. The next day, Governor Jan Brewer, on behalf of the State of Arizona requested permission from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to respond to Mexico's amicus brief. The federal government consented to Mexico filing the amicus brief and Arizona did not.

"I am disappointed by the decision of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to not allow the State of Arizona to respond on the record to Mexico's amicus brief," said Governor Jan Brewer. "I fervently believe that arguments by a foreign government have no place in a U.S. legal proceeding. Arizonans strongly believe, in a bipartisan fashion, that foreign nations should not be meddling in an internal legal dispute between the United States and one of its states." Governor Brewer concluded that "Despite the Court's ruling, I do not believe the Court will give any weight to Mexico's filing because it is little more than a political statement."

The State of Arizona's proposed response to Mexico's amicus brief can be found at the following web link: http://www.azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/PR_101310_ResponseToMexicoAmicusCuriae.pdf

Governor Brewer's press release regarding the proposed response can be found at the following web link: http://www.azgovernor.gov/dms/upload/PR_101310_StatementbyGovernorBrewerResponseToMexicoAmicus.pdf A summary of the key events and documents regarding Mexico's amicus brief are attached/below.

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has scheduled the hearing on the U.S. District Court injunction on portions of SB 1070 for November 1, 2010.

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